WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- A bipartisan U.S. group, the National Coalition To Prevent An Iranian Nuclear Weapon, released a statement this week signed by more than 50 prominent foreign policy figures saying the Trump administration’s approach to Iran has created a situation in which the country is left with only "capitulation or war."
The grave warning was signed by former Sens. Richard Lugar, a Republican from Indiana and Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michegan, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. The letter argues that Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran deal in May has put the two countries on dangerous course to war.
The letter said the Trump Administration’s Iran strategy is to assert maximum economic, political and military pressure and threaten, if not cause, collapse of the government.
"But since it has not undertaken diplomatic engagement on any of its twelve demands on Iran, the Administration has left Iran the option of either capitulation or war,” it added.
"The Administration’s suggested policy of regime change in Iran reflects wishful thinking and a flawed interpretation of intelligence about Iran’s vulnerability," the signatories wrote.
"The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq remains a striking reminder of our inability to estimate accurately the long-term impact of U.S. actions."
The letter said the U.S. administration’s emphasis on coercion and threats of military action without diplomatic engagement provides no exit ramp to avoid collision.
The senior figures specifically took issue with the Trump White House's unilateral withdrawal from a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the JCPOA.
"The U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear agreement (the JCPOA) does not advance the achievement of any of the U.S.’s objectives," they wrote in their statement.
The signatories said the White House's "mounting threats" against Iran would only "serve to unite Iran’s political factions against external threat."
"Threats also encourage common cause among the Europeans, Russia and China in opposition to the U.S."
In their statement, the foreign policy figures also criticized U.S. sanctions as detrimental to America.
"U.S. secondary (extra-territorial) sanctions... bring the U.S. into confrontation with allies and partners, thereby weakening their support for other U.S. objectives. They also spur blocking laws to shelter firms against U.S. action, put the U.S, into potential violation of its trade agreements and contribute to the weakening of the U.S. dollar," they wrote.